February 25, 2000
This is a special day for us, our youngest granddaughter's first birthday. We miss being there to celebrate this big event. Savannah will not remember that we were not there, but we will. For our
family, birthdays are important, and celebrated with gusto. We get awfully homesick at times but then we revive the spirit of adventure and know we chose to be here doing what we are doing.
Today looks like another great day of sailing. We are on a starboard tack, the position that Sea Gem likes the best. Yesterday we bolted away from the rest of our small fleet with winds of fifteen to
twenty-two knots. Since we carry most of our weight on the starboard side when we are on a starboard tack Sea Gem just strands up, balances out, and flies. She is a heavy boat and it takes a pretty good
breeze to push her along. It takes a real push to get a floating condominium to go. We are kidded about all our luxuries aboard, but it is our home and we enjoy the amenities. We especially enjoy the
movies that make a nice break in the day when the seas are calm and we can take time to watch one.
Someone is always on watch, for when you think you are out here all alone a container ship comes steaming
past at twenty knots or better. I called a freighter the other evening to make sure that he saw us. He was a scruffy looking tub and did not respond to my radio call. Later we heard him call a
container ship coming from the opposite direction and we listened as he warned the container vessel to "Watch out for the group of racing sailboats in your track." The container vessel responded with, " I have
them on my radar and will alter course to miss them." So nice when people do things above and beyond the call of duty, showing care toward people they don't even know. I think we can classify those as
"random acts of kindness."
Early this morning, Stampede, who was just in front of us hit a fishing net. The impact stopped their boat and put a dent in their rudder. They were entangled and Stu had
to go overboard in the dark to cut the net loose. We took in all sails and waited within five miles until we were sure they were free and that Stu could get back aboard his boat. Stampede is difficult to
board, even from a dingy. They have a steep sloping transom, high sides and no boarding ladder. We will have to find out how Stu climbed back aboard when we get into port.
About noon today we were
visited by a pod of pilot whales. There must have been thirty to fifty of them. They played and cavorted with Sea Gem for over half an hour. They played in the bow wave, leaped, rolled, and
communicated with each other (and perhaps tried to speak to us ?) in their high pitched whistling voices. Only a privileged few of us get to hear whales in the wild and some of us want to answer. After
the visit from the whales I thought of the massive drift net we had encountered in the night and hope these beautiful creatures are safe from these blights in the seas. From Sea Gem in the Arabian Sea , until later. . .
March 3, 2000
Two events capture our attention each day, the sunrise and the sunset. Over and over we try to capture on film, or now with a digital camera, the beauty of the sun as it either
rises out of, or drops into the ocean. Each evening we have watched anxiously for the elusive "green flash." Charlie and I have seen the green flash, but not on this trip, so we know from experience that it
exists. One of the big advantages of a long blue water passage is to slow down enough to savor these things. The sun rises and sets at home but often we are distracted by other things and we miss this
majesty free show. Like the promise of God's rainbow, the sunrise is also a promise-- a new day, the gift of the present. From Sea Gem, in the Gulf of Aden, until later . . .
